Community

Students from Hillhurst School creating Doppel during Let's Create an Opera

Building generations of opera lovers.

Education programs are an essential part of what we do, enriching the experiences of our current patrons and building audiences for tomorrow through student and young people outreach. This includes great programs like Let’s Create an Opera that gives students the opportunity to create their own original opera, the Opera in Schools Tour that brings one-act operas into schools performed by Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artists, and Allegro Group for those opera lovers (or soon to be opera lovers) under 35.

Thank you to Repsol and TD for believing that arts can make a positive difference to the lives of young people. We thank them for their generous support of our community programs.

Discover The Opera

Emerging Artists

Discover everything you need to know about opera, and Calgary Opera.

This section will teach you everything you need to know about Calgary opera, and opera - from buying a ticket to shouting Toi Toi Toi! at the end of the performance, and everything in-between. You can also discover our Emerging Artist Development Program. Each season, Calgary Opera provides up to eight young singers with the opportunity to study and perform under a highly prestigious professional staff of teachers and performers. This program acts as a bridge between post-secondary education and the professional opera world.

Enbridge believes in making communities culturally vibrant through investments in the arts. We thank them for their generous support of our Emerging Artist program.

Support

Our Future Home

We thrive with your support.

Ticket sales cover less than a third of the cost of producing live opera, even on sold-out shows. We rely on government funding, sponsorships from corporations, and charitable donations to ensure that opera is alive and well for our community.

Board of Directors

Michael Brown

Chair

As President and CEO, Michael has led CMLC and steered the direction of the East Village revitalization plan vision since September 2011. In his role, Michael works closely with the Board of Directors, City of Calgary and key community and business partners to realize the successful completion of key infrastructure programs for East Village, along with pursuing new opportunities to deliver value to CMLC’s sole shareholder, both within the Rivers District and beyond. Previously he made a highly visible mark on Calgary’s cityscape as an associate VP with Matthews Southwest – the organization responsible for delivering Encana’s 58-story downtown tower, THE BOW, and as Vice President at Calgary Economic Development. To deepen his connections to the Calgary community, Michael is the Chair of the Calgary Opera Board of Directors and serves as a member on several boards and committees, such as the National Music Centre Building Committee, the Calgary Stampede Board Strategy Committee, the Calgary Airport Authority Business Development Committee and the Supervisory Board for reSITE - an international Community Development Festival in Prague.

Lachlin McKinnon

Secretary

Lachlin McKinnon is a Partner of Prospector Executive Search & Consulting, where he leads the firm’s non-profit sector practice. Lachlin also serves on the board of Heritage Park Society. He and his wife, Julianne, have three young daughters

Don Swystun

Treasurer: Chair, Finance Committee

Don Swystun was born in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta with a BSc in Petroleum Engineering. He worked for over 30 years in the energy industry in Canada and internationally, and held Executive positions with EnCana and Cenovus. He also served on the University of Alberta Business Advisory Council. He is currently a co-owner of the The Beltliner diner in Calgary. Don is inspired by his father, a choir director and operatic tenor, to strongly support Calgary Opera.

Tina Antony

Director

With a background in the arts and in business, Tina brings a refreshing, purposeful and engaging approach to all her endeavours, but particularly her love of the arts and culture. Tina has over 20 years of experience in leadership and executive roles in a broad range of international enterprises and operations, and has led a number of complex, multidisciplinary international projects and teams in energy and real estate investments worldwide. For many years, she was a partner at one of the largest international law firms in Canada where she served clients to go public and to complete equity, debt and cross border, M&A transactions. Tina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary. Prior to international business, Tina worked in arts publicity, marketing and media relations, and today that experience has been applied in various roles as a sponsor representative, volunteer, member or chair of a number of not-for-profit boards including Calgary Opera, Contemporary Calgary, Calgary ProMusica, the Governance Professionals of Canada and the Institute of Corporate Directors. In 2016, she was awarded an Alberta C-Suite award for Chief Legal Officer of the year. Calgary has a unique place in Canada, and Tina believes that the arts play an ever more important role in Calgary’s entrepreneurial and open-minded personality. She is truly honoured to serve her community as a member of Calgary Opera’s Board of Directors.

Carl Calantone

Director

Carl Calantone is a strategy advisor and management consultant in decision quality and risk management who worked in energy and infrastructure for 25 years. Prior to corporate work, Dr. Calantone taught at the School of Business at McGill University for ten years, where he earned an MBA and PhD in Managerial Economics and International Finance. In 2010 he completed the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Director’s Education Program. Carl is a lifetime arts enthusiast, who has worked with and supported Calgary arts organizations for many years including Calgary Opera, CPO, Alberta Ballet, Calgary Youth Orchestra, and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.

David Dunlop, CA

Director

David is a senior finance professional with more than 20 years experience in the energy industry. He is currently Senior Manager, BU Controller at Pembina Pipeline Corporation, an energy infrastructure company. David started his career with Ernst & Young where he obtained his Chartered Accountant designation. He moved into the energy industry with Talisman Energy where he worked for 18 years in senior Finance management roles, followed by more than 4 years with Veresen Inc. He recently obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is also a graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. David is active in his local communities and he is an avid supporter of the Calgary arts community.

Bonnie DuPont

Director

Bonnie DuPont is a seasoned Board member, having served on corporate and not-for-profit Boards for the past 25 years. Currently she serves on the boards of Bird Construction (TSX:BRD) and NavCanada, a debt-financed company that manages air traffic in Canada. She chairs the Human Resources Committee on both Boards and serves on the Governance and Audit Committees of NavCanada and Bird Construction, respectively. She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary, having served for ten years on that board (2006-16). Previously, she served on the boards of the Bank of Canada, Viterra (previously SaskPool), and SilverWillow Energy. She also has served on the boards of Alliance Pipelines, AltaGas Energy, and CustomerWorks Services. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She was the first woman to join the board of the Calgary Petroleum Club and became its first woman President. Bonnie retired from Enbridge Inc. in 2010, where she served for 13 years as the senior executive responsible for information technology, human resources, public and government affairs, corporate governance matters, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). She joined Enbridge in 1998 after 15 years of prior executive experience with SaskPool and Alberta Pool. Bonnie was named to the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada list each year from 2001 to 2008 and was named to the Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2008. She was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan and now resides in Calgary.

Donald C. Edie

Director

Don Edie was born in Edmonton, but quickly moved south and was raised and has since resided in Calgary – with the exception of his legal education back in Edmonton, graduating in 1976. Don recently retired as Counsel to the firm of Carscallen LLP, where he practiced law, primarily in the Canadian and international energy sectors and before Canadian regulatory boards. Don has been active with Calgary Opera, as a subscriber for more than two decades, as a member of the Board of Directors for over a decade and as a member of the Calgary Opera Chorus for 25 years. He also sings with the Scarboro United Church choir and with the EnChor chamber ensemble. Don’s passion for music is shared by his family.

Craig Golinowski

Director

Craig Golinowski is a Managing Partner of JOG Capital Corp., a Calgary-based private equity firm that focuses on investments in start-up oil and gas companies. Craig has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, an MBA from the University of Western Ontario and is a CFA charter holder. Craig and his wife Niki are avid supporters of the Calgary arts community.

Sharie Hunter

Director: Co-Chair, Special Events Committee

Sharie Hunter is Principal and Managing Partner of Arthur / Hunter,
an award-winning Calgary based design agency. With over 21 years of creative and business experience Sharie has been featured in several publications including; the Financial Post, Calgary Herald, Business in Calgary, Avenue, Designedge Canada, Style at Home and Western Living. Sharie’s tireless support of the city’s arts scene ranges from the Calgary Opera, Honens, Cowtown Opera and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) to JazzYYC, Calgary’s jazz collaborative. Sharie’s passion for design and ongoing pursuit for new challenges has been recognized with various national and international awards. She has chaired and co-chaired numerous events over the years including the Calgary Opera Annual Gala and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra/Holt Renfrew Fashion Gala, CPO James Bond Gala and Design Speaker Series. Sharie currently sits on Honens Board of Directors. She also lends her considerable talents to her beloved design community as a member of the Advisory Board for Designedge Canada and as a judge for a variety of design industry awards in Canada.

Christel Johansson

Director

Christel Johansson has 36 years of experience in the banking industry, seven years in the international division of Union Bank of Finland and 29 years of commercial banking with The Bank of Nova Scotia in Calgary. She grew up in an environment with a strong focus on the arts and music which became a passion at an early age. Ms. Johansson’s intent is to take an active part in the effort to widen the interest in opera in Calgary and especially to reach young audiences and people who have not been exposed to opera.

Jacqueline Pyke

Director: Chair, Transition Committee

Jackie has 28 years experience in upstream oil and gas with a focus in the areas of marketing, finance, planning and strategy, including over 20 years at Talisman Energy. She is a long time community volunteer, including acting as past Board chair of Social Venture Partners Calgary. Jackie has a BA from the University of Calgary and an MBA from University of Western Ontario. In addition to opera, Jackie is also passionate about vizslas and yoga.

Ruth Ramsden-Wood

Director: Chair, Nomination and Governance Committee

Formerly the President of Calgary's United Way, Ruth remains actively engaged in the Calgary community. She is a graduate of the ICD Corporate Director's Education Program and a member of the Executive of the Calgary Chapter of ICD. She is a member of the Calgary Opera Board, the National Institute of Canadian Citizenship, the MedicAlert Foundation of Canada and the RCMP Foundation Board, and she is Vice-President of the Alberta Champion Society. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership at the Haskayne School of Business and she serves on the Calgary Greenway Patrons Council. She serves on the RESOLVE campaign for housing for nine city agencies, focussing on homelessness. Ruth is committed to service to the community.

Greta Raymond

Director

Greta Raymond is an experienced Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Human Resources (HR) professional with many years in the oil and gas industry. She has held global responsibility for environment, health, employee assistance programs, safety, aboriginal affairs, security, stakeholder relations, emergency response and crisis management as well as corporate responsibility. She has 7 years of experience in HR, including 5 years as Vice President responsible for HR service delivery globally. Greta has her own consulting firm in EHS management and heads Pilko and Associate’s Governance and Assurance practice. She advises Boards of Directors and Senior Executives on EHS and Operational Risk Management. She is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds their ICD.D designation. In addition to Calgary Opera, she is a Board member for the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), Alberta Water Portal Society and Tidewater Midstream.

Monica Sloan

Director : Chair, Capital Campaign Committee

Monica Sloan is Managing Director of JKS Holdings and past CEO of Intervera Data Solutions, a firm specializing in strategic information management for the energy sector. For much of Ms. Sloan’s career she has helped to build and sustain innovation within existing and new business and community ventures. Ms. Sloan is a member of a number of public, private and not-for profit boards, including past Chair of Calgary Opera. She has a BSc in Applied Earth Sciences, a BA in Economics, an MSc Engineering all from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University. She loves to volunteer and hopes that in her next life she will come back as an Italian mezzo-soprano.

Dan Wares

Director

Dan Wares is a Portfolio Manager with RBC Dominion Securities. Dan has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and is a CFA charter holder. He and his wife, Molly, are the proud parents of three active children.

Jerilyn Wright

Director: Co-Chair, Special Events Committee

Jerilyn Wright owns one of Alberta’s leading Interior Design firms, Jerilyn Wright & Associates, since 1984. Strong passion for design has earned her firm a reputation in the marketplace for excellence, creativity and versatility. She has been consistently recognized by her peers and critics having earned several Design Awards across the country. In 2012 Jerilyn won the Business in Calgary magazine’s “Leaders of Tomorrow” award. Community involvement is very important to Jerilyn. She currently sits on the board for the Abilities Society assisting them in their goals. In the past, Jerilyn worked with Habitat for Humanity and also chaired Mount Royal University annual fund raiser “Feast of Sound and Song” for four years to assist young underprivileged musicians with their education and career development.